"Ay?!"
"..."
'Maybe it was a bad time?' said someone now in view.
"What's up?! Been a while." In a quiter voice.
A man walked out of a tree house. Wearing long sleeves white shirt, thick dark grey camo pants, and black boots.
"Man." He dragged "You know how it is; doing me hard work sometime. I just came to talk you. You know, before we gone."
"Yeah, it is tough." The man said chuckling. Walking out of his house. He sat down slightly hanging off the porch.
"So why a Ninja Village and not Roam like us?" The man from the clearing said with a smirk. As he sat down he looked at his friend, in a since, wishing him the best. As much as two men who grew up around could.
"Like I told yah, it's my time." He laughed "Ima set anchor here in the cold, nothing changed I'll see you around still." He finished.
"So you really think anybody would want to stay? With you? The cold one?" He asked. Nose high.
"You better off looking again. Some don't mind roaming from here laying anchor, in charge of nothing but themselves." He reminded him. After a few weeks nearby, it was getting closer. The day the depart. Could be months to a year, maybe more.
"Maybe."
"I don't know how to ask." The man soon to be a ninja said with a slight blush.
"Just ask."
"Why not you? You get it, and you could be my Jester one of the ones on the road." He said "While you still got it." He taunted
They laughed. Drank. Talked about there journeys together and apart. Like if the camp was around if you asked anybody that knew the pair.
The next morning
"It was fun but it's my turn this time for baby sitting duty." The man from the clearing said.
"Bet, I'll see you off. I'm headed the same way; Coffee?"
"Hmm.. Yeah I'll have a cup"
A year Later.
Behind a row of bushes you can hear footsteps or maybe small splashes. There's a small waterfall over there a few clicks away; serene to some, just another camping spot for others. Over there you can find the center of this little story. He doesn't go by many names but even though that's true you couldn't say you knew the man.
A few hand signs later
A plank about 6 ft higher then the last started to appear as he jumped up onto the first one. He turned in the air working on his accuracy and acrobatics he got 15 out of 20 targets. Only hitting 6 dead center.
Few more hand signs later
Daggers lifted by the hilt, was pulled back towards the man as he caught them 1 by 1. Throwing them as he caught them sending them further from him. Small clunks of metal embedding in trees. He landed with two in Reverse grip. Channeling some chakra to the daggers he spinned on top of the water making a small but strong tornado.
Then suddenly every dagger thrown was getting sent back towards him. 2 Hitting a invisible wall throwing the trajectory off enough to miss. While spinning away from him only inches away he dodged 4 more from different angles. As they raced towards different parts of his body, he jumped; maybe 15 ft in the air. Water almost glued to his feet as it made a cone shape, only a inch maybe less from below his feet. It started to take the shape of some type of serpents head. Springing forward as if catching falling prey. It continued to stretch further and further until the water under the man lifted from the pond. While inside its throat the wings started to spread out.
He stopped only so deep into the stream and ejected out of it horizontally and Froze it almost immediately now a saddle hard as steele but made of only ice sitting on a Water Serpent with icy scales still as clear as the water it holds.
After a longer set of hand signs.
Ice needles shot out the scales on its chest and wings as the man rode the serpent upward, back to the waterfall. Then nose diving with the serpent leading the dance. It coiled as it's wings curled at the tips as if blocking the body from sight. It then became a small whirlpool, as it spinned you can see in the center of it, was a small pocket only so big with a dome being made of ice matching the scales seen earlier.
As the man stood there looking into the clearing. A fireball slightly smaller then the whirlpool came racing out of the trees, hitting him from the side maybe 10 o'clock.
As steam rolled over the landscape he created a gust of wind with the chakra laced in the ice dome. Letting the water used to make the whirlpool fall he was able to use the last of the chakra now in the atmosphere to extend some sort of long dagger almost a Hatchett. He teleported beheading the person towards his 6 on the right, vanishing in a puff of smoke after its head rolled on the floor the man slid his blade back into the holster on his waist while making a hand sign with his free hand he slipped underground making a deep enough hole to not be felt.
Laid in wait; only for the next figure to appear. With perfect timing jumped out another hole appearing behind the figure, steam and smoke disappearing from the clearing the man and what looked to be a clone of his started to fight. Only hand to hand. No blade; no jutsu.
Another figure looking from behind a tree a few feet away moved out of sight making 3 hand signs with his left used his right to point at the man firing some sort of projectile from his finger.
As that was happening 2 now understood to be clones was making hand signs of they own. Keeping up with what was going on; feeling a chakra spike over there where he couldn't see, he flipped the clone on his back that he was fighting, pulled out his Saber and blocked the projectile racing towards his temple.
With the saber still in hand, he was shot into the sky because a wall made under his feet. He then flipped In the air to look again from the cliffs face. Not having a second longer he got hit in his face by some sort of stone gauntlet. As his neck whipped to the side 2 stone pillars shot out.
Hands being stuck in stone he used chakra to make gravel out of the stone around his hand and wrist. He lifted himself and hit the clone on top of the head hard with his heal. Using the connection as a opportunity to resaturate the stone left untouched the top part fell apart the gravel it could have becam. As he did a handstand to springboard off the wall onto the floor he was sent hurrling to the ground by a kick to his back.
Seeing a opening, a different clone, sent 2 flying disc made of wind. Dodging them; he landed on the ground. Picking himself up and taking a deep breath channeling chakra into his lungs he shot out 4 larger bullets of wind towards the trees where the 2 blades came from. 3 hit the tree the clone was hiding behind, breaking it in the progress. The last one hit dead on grazing the tree before it fell.
'That's 2.' The man said to himself
'Phoenixes judgement' Another clone said to himself now in the clearing. Flaming arrows shot from behind him towards the man as he tucked and rolled out of the way.
Deciding to add to the fray another clone stomped from behind a few trees turning the inviorments dirt into mud around the man. Using the mud to his advantage he made another dome. This time it resembled a turtles shell. Moving underground he made spikes under the clone. Needing to move he teleported onto the water.
"3."
Now in a 2 on 1 with two clones. 1 with a Staff the other a Bisento. He faced both. Wrapping around one hand with leather from wrist to knuckle. His Saber like sword in the other. As they fought. The clones still in hiding shot out using Gorilla tactics using jutsu only when possible. A rock collision here, a fight between elements here, and you have a stand still. 1 vs a few.
When steam shot out from one of the serpents mouth, blinding the man. He was then caught in the coil of a Stone serpent. Looking up he saw what only the enemy's he faced and will face in the future will ever see in all its lethal glory. A serpents fangs showing with nothing but gas shooting out its mouth. He started to cough under a illusion that showed him being surrounded by sleeping gas. A hand sign later the illusion was gone and the smell was back in his nose, the tiredness out of his muscles; Affects of the Illusion. Missing the sound of static electricity, all he saw was a flash.
Boom*
"4." He said. Taking a breath he didn't notice the projectile that ended it.
As he layed there opening his eyes to 9 clones surrounding him. They disappeared.
"That one wasn't bad. Better on defense then offense like I thought though." The man chuckled
"To draining to be used consistently but all the same. Used only when surrounded it'll be perfect. As a partner of sorts not so much." He finished. Dusting off his clothes he thought about what he was going to eat. Deciding on fish he couldn't help but think of the rest of that day.
A year ago
"So yall all good off staying?" The man from the house said.
"Yeah I'm good." 1 around his age said.
"Same." Another.
"Same. You can always call me though; You know I'm good for it." A female winked and said.
"Me too. It'll make a good hotel for me" Another said with a smirk
"Yeah, yeah yall. Very funny. So I can always count on yall support?" The man from that house said.
"Duh" Some female said.
"To good to trade with a group of Roamers huh?" Another joked "I might want to retire hear, so yeah, ill be seeing you." She finished with a laugh.
As he blushed they waved at each other as he stayed; snatching up a few more fish for the river he was gone make soon. The rest of the people packing up getting ready to leave the clearing, what was they home for the past month or so.
The old leaving the young man with words of wisdom, as the ones around his age joke and laugh never knowing if they'll meet again, and all the kids just running around them all playing with the dogs and other pets of the small roaming village.
Saying goodbye to another one. The man saw the leader of the group decided on now to finally have that talk he moved to a later date. Winking at the ones his age he coughed out a order to the rest to wrap it up and they'll be gone before sunset.
Hearing that, the old lady now infront of the young man, decided to leave him with something she heard from her late husband.
"Remember this sweety. 'A man might pick the space but the woman picks the man.' " She said looking him in the eye with all the steel he could have sworn he seen still in them old lady bones of hers.
"Thank you Ma'am. I'll remember that." He replied
"Always?" She asked in a joker manner.
"Always." He replied bowing a little.
"Then you'll be fine sweety." She said as she waved. Walking back to her tent she just smiled at her fellow fossil. Thinking about another younger soul wanting to separate from the flock looking at some packing her mobile house away. Humming her usual tune as she went on with her thoughts.
Back over there with the 1 man wanting to anchor here on the side of this no named mountain. The leader of not just the ones behind him but the one now infront of him; grown and ready to take the seat he was destined to take, being who he is.
"You know, we all seen this coming." The leader spoke. Sipping his morning drink.
"Yeah." The man said back humorously and a lil dreamily.
"Now listen. Every man while the leader of himself is not just showing himself that he can get what he want but those behind him." The leader started
As the man looked at his now former Leader wondering were he was going with what the clever and smarter call his drunking grandpa speech. He couldn't help but think he understood what that meant but decided to wait, maybe he went left.
"You see the man has the body to get it done. While women, they have the patience. But with that comes responsibility that only so many can carry on there shoulders." The leader said as he sipped what the man thought to be black tea, maybe spiked, just a little bit. He wasn't sure sometime.
"If you ask me.." The leader started to say needing to look him in his eyes before he finished. "Fuck' em." He said plainly but with all the heat he was known to have. Well since I been around.
I just looked foward, curiosity in my eyes. The Leader of this group my old home just smiled and said "You might not get it today but you can't be aiming for gold looking behind you." He laughed then slapped my back. "It just won't due." He then paused.
"Whatever you want out there, it's always gone be there. But you. You won't be." He said looking into the sky.
"What does that mean?" I asked
"I heard what she told you and I wanted to clear up some of it. It is new information after all, and you always was the Goof." He finished eyebrow high.
The man now blushing couldn't help but tilt his hat at that. Some would call him the loner, some a doer, but the ones who know him the most would call him Bull headed.
"You'll get it. One day, it just might not be today. Now before I go. I got one more thing to say and a small going away present." The leader said as he pulled out a bowie made of black steel with ingravings on the blade, patterns on the hilt, like thin flicks of flame running down the blade then around the hilt only.
"Remember you only need to apologize to yourself. So why not only do was right?" He let that sit for a second. "Everything you are.. you are. Nobody will change that. But someone can be the reason you change how you get it."
"How you know?" The man asked
"Babe!? Cause kid.."
"I was more like you when I was younger" He said
"Then what changed" The man asked playfully
"Somebody got to lead this group. After all we share the same passions." He finished with a smile.
'..But.. That's why I'
"That's why we" The leader said not knowing it but finishing for the man listening.
"Want what we want" They both said 1 out loud as he swung his arm around his wife while the other said internally.
"You'll always be welcome" The leader said hands on his shoulders about to embrace him after letting his wife go back to where she came from. With the most interesting smile.
'Is he frowning a little?..'
As the memory faded he walked towards his house now in sight. As he did that he couldn't help but ask once again.
"Why was you sad?" He asked outloud as his old leader kicked back some where probably caressing his 'Vixen' so to speak. He chuckled at the thought of them once again as he walked into his house after another day alone by the foot of the mountain.